Chinese smartphone brands Vivo, OPPO, and Huawei may have dominated the midrange price bracket in the first half of 2018 -- but that won't mean that other industry giants will be giving up the fight in that echelon altogether.

Priced at PHP 17,990, the all-new Samsung Galaxy A7 2018 is the Korean Giant's answer to the best-selling mid-level Android smartphones from China - including Vivo V11, OPPO F9, and Huawei Nova 3i - which have already captured the fancy of so many mobile consumers across the Philippines.

Needless to say, the competition is extremely fierce -- but what's good for Samsung is that this model has at least one remarkable feature that can potentially make it a market winner coming into this year's Yuletide Season.

Samsung Galaxy A7 2018 is actually the first Android smartphone by the company to have a Triple Rear Camera Module, which makes this device one of the most versatile cameraphones that Samsung has ever crafted.

This unique imaging set-up is made up of the following cameras, which are neatly lined vertically in the upper left portion of the device's back panel:

1. Primary 24 MegaPixel Camera with f/1.7 Aperture, Phase Detection AutoFocus, LED Flash, and HDR - This high-resolution shooter has a standard field of view and a wide aperture that enhances its performance in low-light settings or conditions.

3. Tertiary 5 MegaPixel Camera with f/2.2 Aperture, Serving as Depth Sensor - This cam enables Live Focus mode, wherein Bokeh or subtle blurring is applied on the background of the subject in Portraits or Product Shots to make them look more pleasing.

Complementing this trio at the back, the Galaxy A7 2018's 24 MegaPixel f/2.0 front-facing camera with Beauty Mode is made for Filipinos who love snapping selfies that are instantly ready for sharing on Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram.

All of these shooters can easily be accessed and used using the phone's native Camera Application that's part of the Samsung Experience for Android 8.0 Oreo.

Oh, and I almost forgot: Aspiring video creators and vlogging should find good use for Galaxy A7 2018's 4K 30fps video recorder at the back and FullHD 1080p 30fps front cam.

Another notable feature of the Samsung Galaxy A7 2018 is its 6-inch FullHD+ SuperAMOLED display - with no notch - that's large and brilliant enough to deliver an enjoyable visual experience when browsing photos taken using the Triple Rear Cam, viewing movies on Netflix, reading blogs, or binge-watching on Youtube Vlogs. This clear and crisp screen is protected by scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Design-wise, this model flaunts a glass-sandwich identity, which is pretty popular in smartphones this year. Unlike its leading competitors, though, it merely has a monotone look instead of a gradient color finish. Despite that, I think the Galaxy A7 2018 still looks quite attractive.

Under the hood, the Galaxy A7 2018 runs its heavily customized Android 8.0 Oreo operating system with a moderately powered Octa Core Exynos 7 Octa 7885 Processor with Mali-G71 GPU, has 4GB of RAM for multitasking, and comes with 64GB storage that's easily expandable using the dedicated microSD card slot.

This line-up of innards is quite frankly not as powerful as what's inside Vivo V11, Huawei Nova 3i, and OPPO F9 -- and this is reflected in the Antutu Benchmark Scores of these models. Nonetheless, I think the Korean smartphone should still be able to deliver a smooth experience for consumers who aren't really ultra-heavy mobile-gamers or power users.

For security and privacy, Galaxy A7 2018 has a side-mounted Fingerprint Scanner - ala Xperia handsets - and Facial Recognition software. These features add a veritable layer of user protection against those who want to view their content without permission.

Now, for battery life, this smartphone's non-removable 3,300 mAh Li-Po pack should be able to deliver around 10 hours of uptime with regular use, which is pretty acceptable. Personally, however, I would also get a powerbank in case I decide to get this phone.

Interested in this device?Samsung Galaxy A7 2018 will be officially released in Samsung Concept Stores and authorized retail channels across the Philippines on October 27, 2018. I was informed that this particular model will initially be out in three colors, namely, Blue, Black, and Gold.